In . – 05/21/2022 17:24 (act 05/21/2022 19:24)
Pictured: Russian soldiers in Mariupol, southern Ukraine. ©AP (image of symbol)
Ukraine fears a new advance by Russian troops after they have completely taken Mariupol, as well as the steel mill Azov.
The Ukrainian military governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajday, reported massive fighting in the Donbass on Saturday. For example, the city of Sievjerodonetsk, in eastern Ukraine, has been under fire for days, with deaths and injuries.
“Russians eliminate Sieverodonetsk like Mariupol”
“The Russians are killing Sieverodonetsk like Mariupol. The fighting is taking place in the city’s suburbs,” Hajday said on the Telegram news channel. The governor complained about aerial bombings in the region and that Russia wanted to reduce the area to rubble. At the same time, he rejected statements by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that the Luhansk region was about to be completely taken as “absurd”. Shoigu no longer has an overview of the situation of his own armed forces.
Russian attacks recorded in Ukraine
The Ukrainian General Staff recorded a large number of Russian attacks in the country and pointed to the danger of air strikes from neighboring Belarus. According to the situation report on Saturday, the focus of the fighting is further east in Ukraine. There, eleven enemy attacks were repulsed and, among other things, eight tanks were destroyed. The artillery bombardment of Ukrainian positions also continues, he said. Ukraine is also threatened by Belarus, an ally of Russia, which is not officially a participant in the war.
Ukraine: Ships in the Black Sea
In addition, Russian Navy ships are on the move in the Black and Azov seas for combat and reconnaissance operations, the team said in Kiev. The military complained that the Russian occupiers were also using terror on the ground against the Ukrainian civilian population. For example, they prevented people from fleeing the Kherson region they occupied into Ukrainian-controlled territory. The opening of humanitarian corridors is also blocked so that food and medicine cannot be brought into the area. Elderly, sick and children were trapped there, he said.
indictment against Ukraine
Meanwhile, Russia’s Kursk border region has accused Ukraine of daily bombing. On Saturday, the Glushkovo region was attacked, Governor Roman Starovoit wrote in the Telegram news service. At first he did not comment on possible victims. In recent days, Starovoit has already blamed Ukrainians for the destruction in towns near the border. One person reportedly died in the village of Tjotkino on Thursday. Ukraine has not commented on the allegations.
Russia reported bombing
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it launched missiles at Ukrainian targets from ships in the Black Sea. In the Zhytomyr region, for example, weapons supplied by Europe and the US were destroyed with Kalibr cruise missiles, sources in Moscow said. In addition, a military training camp near the port city of Odessa was attacked with rockets and artillery.
Russia: Azov steel fighters surrender
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday that the last Ukrainian militants at the Azov steel plant in Mariupol had surrendered – more than 2,000 in total. That means the city is completely under Russian control, he said. The Ukrainian General Staff in Kiev said the enemy had begun demining the area around the port to make it operational again.
According to the General Staff, the Russian armed forces are still trying to gain full control over the Luhansk and Donetsk regions to secure a land corridor to the Crimean Black Sea peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. From the point of view Russian, the capture of Mariupol is considered an important partial success.
Russian attacks on Kharkiv reported
Ukrainian authorities also reported further Russian attacks in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. In the Kiev district of the megacity, the market was shot on Friday night. Several merchant pavilions were set on fire. The published photos of the heavy destruction were initially unverifiable.